Finding good friends and meaningful relationships as an adult can be a difficult process. With our busy lives, constantly on the go, friendships are not just hard to start, but hard to maintain. Good friendships are built on mutual respect, an appreciation for spending time together, and enjoying common interests.

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Steps

1

Look at the hobbies, interests, and activities you enjoy the most. Specialty clubs like model airplanes, gardening, or crafts bring groups of people together at regular intervals, and if there is a common interest, seeds may begin to germinate toward a lasting friendship.

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2

Spend time in groups within your regular social circles, whether in small groups at church, community service organizations, or a coffee shop you stop at often. Talk to the people who you see often.

3

Give the people you work with a few minutes of your time every day. "Going about your business" in a rush will make other people at the job feel like you are aloof, too busy for them, or just not interested in them. You may be surprised at the friendships you can grow with your co-workers.

4

Join social clubs in your community like Masons, Elks, or others, or look for bowling leagues or other sports organizations if you are interested in them.

5

Read the community announcements in the local paper to see if a nearby library or Jr. College has adult education classes that interest you. This gives you a chance to meet with a group of people over a period of time, and you may find friendships developing during group projects, helping others study, or being helped yourself.

6

Make time to call, visit, or email new acquaintances so that they know you are thinking about them, and are interested in how they are doing.

7

Be willing to listen if your new friends have trouble. Also, be willing to help if they need a hand. Skills that can be shared are often valuable assets in forming friendships.

8

Talk to the people you see at sporting goods stores, whether sharing tips on fishing tackle or a favorite fishing hole, or giving advice on which golf course has the fastest tees and smoothest fairways, when a connection is made with someone at a place like this, it can lead to outings sharing your pastime.

9

Check into activities in your area on craigslist.org. Many of these are free and may be another place to meet adults with the same interests that you have.

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Tips

Talk to your neighbors, there is no more convenient place to begin a friendship than the guy down the street.

Be willing to overlook foibles and quirks, often these are superficial anyway.

Warnings

Be aware that the people you trust and care about can be the ones that take advantage of you. Don't be too quick to give the location of a favorite fishing hole away.

Also

That everyone makes mistakes, in a real friendship understanding that the friendship is never one sided and being willing to sometimes be the first to say sorry or a kind word can go a long way. Also having a positive attitude on life in general or even sometimes can really make a difference in your friends lives especially during hard times, sometimes a little compassion,patience, and positive outlooks can go along way...cause' happiness can be contagious...and gloom can really dim the light in a friendship. and put everyone on edge.